Abstract
Introduction: Three percent of people worldwide are infected with Hepatitis C virus (HCV). A few studies have been performed to evaluate the biochemical markers of the disease. In the current study, biochemical markers were evaluated in HCV patients and the control group.
 Methods: Two sex- and age-matched healthy individuals (n = 100) and HCV positive patients (n = 100) were included (mean age of 20-75, 26.0% females and 74.0% males). Biochemical markers, including liver enzymes (ALT, AST and ALP), lipid profiles (cholesterol, LDL, and HDL) and triglyceride (TG) were investigated in both groups. HCV genotyping was also performed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and OHNO methods.
 Results: The biochemical markers between HCV patients and controls were compared (cholesterol, ALP, AST, ALT, LDL: p = 0.0001, HDL: p = 0.002, TG: p = 0.003), and statistically significant difference was found between two groups. The biochemical markers between HCV patients and the control group in terms of age was compared and no differences was observed (p = 0.741), however, there was a significant difference in sex between HCV patients and control group (26.0% females, 74.0% males in control group, and x% females and y% males in HCV patients) (p = 0.032). The results of HCV genotyping showed that 39 patients were genotype 1a, and 43 patients were genotype 3a, and 1 patient was genotype 2a. Evaluation of biochemical markers in patients with genotype 1a and 3a showed that there were significant differences in cholesterol (p = 0.001), LDL (p = 0.001) and HDL (p= 0.003) levels, but there were no significant differences in liver enzymes and TG levels in both genotypes.
 Conclusion: In the present study, we found significant difference in biochemical markers between HCV patients and controls. In HCV patients, the biochemical markers were dependent on HCV genotypes, and their levels in genotype 1a were higher than genotype 3a. In conclusion, biochemical markers are one of the most important factors for the identification of treatment.
Highlights
Three percent of people worldwide are infected with Hepatitis C virus (HCV)
In HCV patients, the biochemical markers were dependent on HCV genotypes, and their levels in genotype 1a were higher than genotype 3a
In case of sex (26.0% females, 74.0% males), there was a significant difference between control group (75.0% married, 25.0% single), and HCV patients (81.0% married, 19.0% single) (p = 0.032)
Summary
Three percent of people worldwide are infected with Hepatitis C virus (HCV). A few studies have been performed to evaluate the biochemical markers of the disease. Results: The biochemical markers between HCV patients and controls were compared (cholesterol, ALP, AST, ALT, LDL: p = 0.0001, HDL: p = 0.002, TG: p = 0.003), and statistically significant difference was found between two groups. It has been shown that in chronic HCV patients, 82% were positive for anti-F antibodies, showing a significant difference from the healthy individuals 5. This protein increases the frequency of CD4+CD25+ Treg cells, which may be associated with persistent and chronic infection through subversion of the host immune response 6 F proteins could enhance liver cell proliferation 7, which is subsequently associated with the disease progression towards cirrhosis 8. The protease function of HCV NS3 protein is a crucial factor for the induction of liver fibrosis via interaction with cellular miRNAs and down-regulation of miRNA gene expressions [9,10]
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